The Oakland Golden Grizzlies and the Purdue Boilermakers meet Friday in college basketball action from Mackey Arena. Here’s a Purdue vs Oakland prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Purdue vs Oakland pick.
Oakland Golden Grizzlies Betting Preview
The Golden Grizzlies took a step back from the heights of the 2023-24 season last year, regressing from 24-12 overall to a 16-18 run in 2024-25. That effort would leave Oakland behind Robert Morris, Cleveland State, Milwaukee, Youngstown State and Purdue Fort Wayne in the Horizon League standings—pretty much near the middle of the pack. The Grizzlies hit a 4-2 run to finish off the season then caught fire in the first two games of the conference tournament. Oakland beat Green Bay and Milwaukee in their first two games but then fell versus Robert Morris in overtime 79-76 on March 10, ending their season for good.
Oakland has one game in the proverbial books already, a Monday matchup versus a tough Michigan squad. That one went just about how you might expect, as the Grizzlies went into the break facing a 69-38 deficit. Oakland didn’t end up getting any closer on a 52-40 run in the second and lost in blowout fashion 121-78 in the end. Tops in scoring during the defeat was Isaac Garrett with 20 points in 33 minutes of action. Tuburu Naivalurua added 18 points with five boards and Zaire Wells had 14 points with six rebounds. Brody Robinson also finished in double-figures with 11 points and five assists in 36 minutes of work on the floor.
Purdue Boilermakers Betting Preview
Over on the Purdue side, they did pretty well last year, especially considering how tough the Big Ten Conference was (and is). The Boilermakers ultimately went 24-12 overall with a 13-7 run in conference play. That would put Purdue in a three-way tie for fourth place and behind Michigan State, Maryland, Michigan, UCLA and Wisconsin overall. The Boilermakers skidded into the postseason on a 2-5 run then beat USC in the opening round of the conference tourney before falling to Michigan in the next round. Purdue managed to win a pair of games in the national tournament over High Point and McNeese. In the Sweet Sixteen round however, the Boilermakers took a tough loss 62-60 versus Houston to send the team home.
Purdue’s first game this year came versus Evansville on Tuesday. In that one the Boilermakers didn’t have much trouble, going into the locker room with a 41-22 advantage. After 41 more points from there Purdue had an 82-51 blowout win. Tops in scoring was Fletcher Loyer with 30 points and one assist in 28 minutes of work during the victory effort.
Oakland Golden Grizzlies @ Purdue Boilermakers Betting Trends: November 7, 2025
Why the Purdue Boilermakers will win
- Purdue has won each of its last 33 games against non-Conference opponents at Mackey Arena.
- Oakland has lost seven of its last eight night games against non-Conference opponents.
- Purdue has won the first half in each of its last 16 games against non-Conference opponents at Mackey Arena.
Why the Oakland Golden Grizzlies will win
- Oakland has won the first half in three of its last four games.
Purdue vs Oakland Prediction
I’ll probably just stick with Purdue in this one. The Boilermakers blew right past Evansville in their opener, shooting a nice 47.5 percent from the field and 44.8 percent (13-of-29) from outside. Purdue was out-rebounded 35-34 and had a 22-22 tie in the paint though, so I’d like to see a more dominant effort up front in Friday’s game.
As for Oakland, they’re coming into another very tough road matchup following their opener blowout versus Michigan. In that first game the Grizzlies were dominated by the Wolverines offense, who put up 64.3 percent shooting from the field, 19-of-35 (54.3 percent) from outside and 12-of-13 (92.3 percent) from the line. Michigan also had a 38-19 rebounding edge and beat the Grizzlies 48-26 in the paint. We’ll need to see Oakland in some more comparable matchups before we can get a gauge on where they’re at this season. Trouble is, the Grizzlies will likely have a tough time keeping any kind of pace in this one as well.